Customs
by Bookwrm389
Summary: Over a dinner of Xingese takeout, a casual inquiry about earrings leads to a debate on the pros and cons between two different cultures. Lanfan doesn't think she'll ever understand how Ling's mind works.


_A.N. Since I've included Mei in a story, I thought it was time to write something about the rest of the Xingese gang. I love the dynamic between Ling and Lanfan, but sadly, I'm not sure I can see them being together romantically. The expectations placed on them are too much. I mean Ling is expected to have fifty different wives when he becomes an emperor! He's got his hands full without an affair with his bodyguard! And Lanfan is just too disciplined and dedicated to her work to allow herself to be put in that position._

Customs

"Have you thought about piercing your ears?"

Lanfan paused with her chopsticks still in her mouth and stared at the young man on the couch across from her, torn between the compulsion to answer her lord right away and swallowing her mouthful of Xingese noodles first—which, she thought irritably, were so doused in Amestrian sauces that they were hardly recognizable as coming from her culture. No self-respecting Xingese man or woman would even serve it to their dogs for fear of angering their ancestors.

Although it _was _interesting how such an insult to her land and people could taste so _good..._

But that was beside the point, and Ling was still waiting for an answer to his rather peculiar question. He crossed his legs and propped his chin in his palm, fixing her with a disarming smile that slowly morphed to a frown as the silence stretched on. "Lanfan, I asked you a question," he said sternly.

Lanfan gulped down everything in her mouth at once, and never mind if the huge lump of unchewed noodles inched down her throat like a piece of coal. The glass of water on the table between them called to her, but she didn't spare it so much as a glance. _Show no weakness, show no weakness..._

"I apologize, my lord," Lanfan said hoarsely, eyes watering with every word. "No, I have not considered piercing my ears."

"Why not?" Ling asked bluntly. His eyes strayed to her ears, and Lanfan felt them burning under his scrutiny, a reflex she had never quite been able to suppress. "I think it would look pretty nice!"

Lanfan swallowed several more times, trying to banish the tickle in her throat and wishing desperately for the water. "Looking nice does not matter to me. I am a bodyguard, not a concubine."

Ling tilted his head with a perplexed look. "Winry has pierced ears, and she's certainly no concubine."

_Yet_, Lanfan thought dubiously, thinking of the elder Elric's covetous looks when the mechanic wasn't looking. "This country's customs differ from our own, my lord," she explained. "Perhaps here it is considered appropriate for a commoner to indulge in such frivolities, but in Xing..."

"I think jade," Ling said suddenly, nodding to himself and not even noticing her discomfiture at the abrupt subject change. "Yes, jade and amethyst would look outstanding. And I like Winry's silver hoops, but gold might be a better pick for you..."

Lanfan flushed a little darker with every word, fumbling blindly for her water when her itchy throat threatened to send her into a coughing fit. This was _not_ an appropriate conversation between a bodyguard and her master! If anything, Ling should be fawning such compliments on that Winry girl instead of her. He had certainly gone out of his way to make sure the mechanic was aware of his interest, proposing to her a mere five minutes after they met and making a complete _ass _out of himself in the process...

She winced, thinking of how her grandfather would scold her for even _thinking_ of her lord in such crude terms. And she knew exactly how he would punish her, too. Lanfan set the water back in its place and folded her hands in her lap. Ling gave her an odd look, but didn't comment.

"I will _not_ wear earrings," Lanfan croaked. _So please don't bait me with pretty compliments..._

"Why not?" Ling asked, persistent as any nosy toddler. Lanfan cursed mentally. That was another two minutes without the water she craved.

"I have told you why," Lanfan ground out.

"I don't accept those reasons," Ling said glibly. "I don't see why you can't get your ears pierced. It's not like it would interfere with your duties as my bodyguard."

"Earrings could be grabbed by the enemy and ripped out," Lanfan said promptly. "They could get caught on my clothes and hair at a crucial moment and give the enemy an unnecessary opening. They could reflect the sun and distract you or any other allies in a battle—"

Ling laughed. "_Now_ you're just grasping at straws, Lanfan!"

Lanfan's heart fell. This was a routine with them, it seemed. Ling could spend hours and hours in passionate debate about trivial subjects that in no way interested her, trying to change her mind about anything and everything. And while it was not Lanfan's place to disagree with her lord on _any _subject, there were times when her duties came before his childish whimsy. This was one of them.

She opened her mouth to say so...and started coughing instead. Lanfan covered her mouth as she waited for it to pass, refusing to look her lord in the eye during this humiliating bout. But once Lanfan finally raised her head, there was a glass of water hovering in front of her nose. _Ling's _water. She began to protest, but Ling only shot her a severe look. "It's not wise to refuse when a prince of Xing offers you his own water," he said in a low voice.

Lanfan nodded meekly and accepted, only taking the smallest of sips before returning the glass. "My lord, it wouldn't be proper for me to wear earrings! A person in my position should not concern herself with vanity."

"It's _not _vanity," Ling protested. At her disbelieving look, he shrugged and backed off. "Well...okay, it _is_, but...look, aren't you even the least bit curious?"

Of _course _she was curious. Every girl ever born outside a noble bloodline spent her entire childhood dreaming of being someone's princess or someone's wife, of dressing up prettily and possessing a horde of servants and spending her entire life being coddled. And in Xing, those dreams remained precisely that. Dreams. At most, a common girl could hope to catch the eyes of a passing prince from her clan's royal house and be invited to become a servant to his ladies. But even that much of an elevation in status was considered to be presumptuous.

In this, Lanfan considered herself to be lucky. Her family straddled the line between commoner and royalty, allowed to live in comfort and prosperity in exchange for their services as bodyguards and fighters. It was honest, decent work, something Lanfan could be proud of. And she was grateful that her skills were enough to have earned her a place by this silly prince's side.

It was enough. She could not—_would_ not—ask for more.

"That...is irrelevant," Lanfan said finally. "Earrings are for women of the noble houses who must make every effort to be presentable for their husbands and lords, not the likes of me. Nor is it your place to insist that I should wear them."

Ling toyed a bit with his food, frowning at the boxes of rice arrayed on the table between them. "I don't think it's so irrelevant," he said slowly. "You know, I never used to think there was anything wrong with the customs of our country. It's only since we've come to Amestris that I've begun to think we may be a little behind the times. Have you ever considered that the noble women only blather on about jewelry and status and men simply because no one bothers to give them anything else to do?"

"What do you mean?" Lanfan asked uncertainly, drawn into the discussion despite herself. "They have tasks just as the commoners do. They are expected to uphold the honor of their clans and bloodline."

"And that's all well and good," Ling agreed, and Lanfan breathed a sigh of relief. "Don't get me wrong, I'm sure the skills required to be a noble woman are daunting. But surely not _every _noble born wishes to carry out those duties for their entire life. Just as I know not every commoner born is completely content with their lot. Why must the lines be so clearly drawn? Why is every child slotted into a single peg and never allowed to see if they would fit better in another place?"

"My lord, I'm not sure I see where you're going with this," Lanfan said, bewildered by the turn his discussion was taking. "Even if one does not wish for the life they are born into, they soon learn to accept the hierarchy of the clans and their place in that hierarchy."

"Why?"

Lanfan hesitated. "...because they have no choice?"

Ling nodded at the door across the room where Al and Winry had exited not long ago. "Why _shouldn't_ they have a choice? Take that Rockbell girl for instance. She was born far out in the country, following in her grandmother's trade and working hard for a living. She loves her work...but she _also_ wears earrings. When I first saw her, I thought, 'Now _there's_ a well-rounded girl who appreciates everything she has been blessed with, not _just _her looks or _just _her abilities.' I find that refreshing, don't you?"

Lanfan shifted uncomfortably in her seat, racking her brains for a counterargument and coming up with nothing. "I suppose she is rather proud for a commoner..."

"But it's _not_ pride," Ling insisted. "Winry doesn't think she's _better_ than anyone else. She simply doesn't walk around with her head bowed expecting others to strike her down for being impertinent, which is _exactly_ what would happen in Xing if our people knew of her roots. But not here. Why?"

"The customs here are different," Lanfan repeated. "It takes quite a lot of skill to be an automail engineer, and from what I understand of this country, Amestrians value certain skills and professions similar to how we value one's lineage."

"Not precisely," Ling countered. "The military is the only group automatically treated with any sort of deference here. Ed is a State Alchemist, given that position due to his abilities and stationed far above her. So if social rank is based on skill alone, what's he doing hanging around someone so far beneath him? By all rights, he should have cut all ties with his childhood friend by now."

"She built his automail!" Lanfan exclaimed.

Ling waved this aside. "So what? Does a prince of Xing make friends with the poor shepherd he gets his wool from? The prince wouldn't even offer the fellow a handshake if they met on the street. But here in Amestris, _everyone _is treated with the same basic respect and courtesy because _everyone _has a chance to become something different from what their ancestors were."

"I find that hard to believe," Lanfan said dryly.

"Well, yes," Ling amended. "I suppose every country has its share of pigheaded men and women who place themselves above the common man for one reason or another. Some of those military fellows, for instance. But it's not _all _bad."

"And neither is Xing," Lanfan said heatedly. "Young lord, you're speaking as though you wish every commoner could be given a chance to become an emperor! To take _your _place as a prince or princess when you have been training for that position for your entire _life_. There's enough instability in our country with forty-three princes and princesses vying for power. Can you imagine the anarchy that would follow if _every_ man and woman in Xing was considered an heir?"

"It works well enough for this country," Ling pressed. "The Fuhrer is always chosen from among the ranks of the generals, and _they_ are people who have, in one way or another, worked their way up through the army—the army which accepts anyone capable of performing the required duties without a care for bloodline. It sounds like a decent system to me."

"And what if the Fuhrer himself is involved with the homunculi that the Elric brothers are attempting to root out?" Lanfan snapped and was satisfied to see Ling's mouth drop open at the reminder. "They suspect much of the military senior staff of being involved in a plot that has seen countless innocents killed for the sake of the Philosopher's Stone. _These _are the people the Amestrians have chosen as their leaders!"

Ling pouted a little. Eventually, he smiled and held up his hands in surrender. "Okay, you've got me there. But you have to admit that there are a lot of good things about this country's customs. The freedom to choose your path, friendly people that treat you the same whether you're a prince or a shoe shiner…"

Lanfan nodded a little. "There are also many wonderful things about Xing. A rich culture based on centuries of history as traditions are passed down from generation to generation. We are taught the importance of family and humility, of taking pride in one's roots and valuing the birthrights inherited from one's elders, be they royal or common..."

"And good food!" Ling cried, holding up his water in a toast.

"...and good food," Lanfan agreed and clinked their glasses together. Ling dove back into his dinner with enthusiasm, and they ate in silence for a few minutes longer. Lanfan even began to relax, thinking she had won this foolish battle and laid Ling's doubts about Xingese customs to rest.

"So when are you going to pierce your ears?"

Lanfan jerked her head up and gaped at her lord, appalled that she had forgotten all about the reason they had started this conversation. Ling smiled wickedly. "When in Drachma, do as the Drachmans do! Since nobody in this country cares about lineage and all that, I order you to pierce your ears and wear earrings for as long as we're here, Lanfan. You can get Winry to help you."

"M-Must I, my lord?" Lanfan said in a strained voice.

"Yes, Lanfan!" Ling said cheerfully. "You must!"

"No, she must _not_."

Lanfan blanched, feeling sick, and saw her own horror reflected in Ling's face. She looked over his shoulder to see her grandfather climbing in the window, returning from sentry duty. Lanfan jumped to her feet at once and donned her mask, wondering just how long he had been listening. Probably quite awhile. Best to just assume he had heard the entire thing.

"Why can't she wear earrings, Fu?" Ling whined, twisting around to face the older bodyguard. "You can't countermand my order!"

"I can, and I _will_," Fu said sternly, crossing his arms. "As her grandfather, I forbid Lanfan from piercing her ears, and _you _will not pressure her into going against my wishes. Is that understood, young lord?"

"Aww, _Fuuuu..._"

Fu jerked his thumb at the window. "Your turn, granddaughter. Make a full sweep before you retire, and I'll take first watch tonight."

"Yes, grandfather."

Lanfan crouched on the window ledge, balancing for a brief moment before swinging herself up to the roof. She tugged her hood up over her head to keep her ears warm and looked around. First, check the roof, then find and memorize all paths to and from the prince's hotel room. Her grandfather had done this exact same sweep in less than an hour, so it would most likely take her a little longer, especially since this was unfamiliar territory.

"Lanfan!"

Lanfan came at once, decoding her grandfather's tone as 'Come, urgent!' rather than 'Come, danger!' She hooked her feet over the gutter and dangled upside down before the window. "Yes, grandfather?"

Fu glanced over his shoulder at Ling, currently sulking on the other side of the room. Only once he was sure the prince wasn't looking did her grandfather lean forward and slide a hand into Lanfan's hood, tugging the edge of her ear with callused fingers. "White opal," he muttered gruffly. "It would look lovely."

Fu slammed the window shut and jerked the curtain across it. Lanfan hung there for a long moment before she remembered with a start that she was supposed to be on sentinel duty and flipped back up onto the roof. And though she performed her duties as flawlessly as ever, it was hours before her ears finally stopped burning.


End file.
